The number of first year students arriving at university who report a mental health condition is now five times what it was ten years ago. There’s also been a trebling in the number of students dropping out of university with mental health problems. Half of all UK school leavers go on to study at university. So given […] … learn more→

I arrived at the Hotel Château Bethlehem in Maastricht moments before I was due to speak. Delays in London, Brussels and Liège meant that I staggered through the doors late, exhausted and dehydrated. I slipped off my backpack, let my tripod clatter against the leg of a chair and blundered straight into some introductory words […] … learn more→

There is a common perception that students represent the elite, and so cannot possibly suffer from hunger. But this is a myth. In fact, the available evidence suggests that students are more likely to be food insecure – they are not able to access adequate nutritious food on a daily basis – than others in […] … learn more→

On a snowy day in January, I asked students to tell me what was the first word that came to mind when thinking about mathematics. The two most quoted words were “calculus” and “equation”. When I asked the same question to a room full of professional mathematicians, none of these two words were spoken; they […] … learn more→

Recently, the University of Adelaide used a special exemption under the Equal Opportunity Act to advertise eight academic positions in the faculty of engineering, computer and mathematical sciences for women only. This raises questions about why a university might take this approach. While Australia has had gender equality legislation for 30 years, there has been very slow progress towards […] … learn more→

Fellowship applications are hard. They force you to stand alone. You are often applying early in your career, when you feel like you don’t have much to skite about. The temptation to puff yourself up is overwhelming – then you read back on it and it makes you want to vomit, just a bit. On […] … learn more→

People tend to look at you weird if you have four kids. And people tend to look at you weird when they find out you’re doing a PhD. So you can imagine that I have had a generous share of strange looks over the last few years. Common reactions would include: ‘Are you crazy??’ ‘You […] … learn more→

Identity politics has been an issue on campus for as long as I’ve been in higher ed. It used to be primarily in hiring, where we were “motivated” to hire people with certain genitals or skin color, on the basis that there “weren’t enough” of such in associated positions. I confess for some time I […] … learn more→

Repeated efforts to improve public school education across Canada — curricular enhancements, increased accountability, intensified literacy and numeracy initiatives — are failing to improve student achievement. In the province of Saskatchewan, student achievement results have flatlined and only 43.2 per cent of Indigenous students are graduating on time. Saskatchewan’s results are not atypical. In her analysis of Programme […] … learn more→

Since foreign studies are no longer limited to the study of grammar, translation and literature of the foreign country in question, students enrolled in Licentiate LLCER and LEA also follow courses of “civilization”. LLCER actually wants to say, according to the official nomenclature, Foreign and Regional Letters, Literatures and Civilizations (and LEA, Applied Foreign Languages). […] … learn more→